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13.4.15

The Emergence of Hip-Hop

The 1990’s was an interesting, but confusing time for the
fashion industry. There were many misconceptions because of the recessionary
years of the earlier part of the decade, so people were caught up in the luxury
of consumerism and consumption. However, the most influential part of the
decade was the fast pace of the music industry.

Genres such as rap, garage, R’N’B and reggae thrived and
reached out to new audiences. However, hip-hop music became increasingly
popular as the 1990’s surpassed, especially in England’s capital, as it was
full of young, fashionable people. Popular hip-hop artists included Run DMC, MC
Hammer and Big Daddy Kane.

This music targeted a specific demographical audience and
hip-hop music in particular had a generic subculture that surrounded it. When
hip-hop went mainstream across Europe and America in 1995, clothing such as
baseball jackets, bomber jackets, baggy jeans and tracksuits became popularised
casual wear for men and women that enjoyed the musical genre.

We see elements of the hip-hop genre in not only the music
industry today, but the fashion industry too. High street stores such as Topshop and Zara
have begun to sell baseball and bomber jackets in order to ‘relive’ the hip-hop
era, whilst baggy, ‘boyfriend’ style jeans have been appearing on catwalks from
designers such as Junya Watanabe (Ready to Wear S/S14) and Balmain (Ready To
Wear S/S14) for several years. This kicked back, relaxed aesthetic has become a
stereotypical feature of hip-hop music and the type of fashion that runs
alongside it. Furthermore, baseball hats
are worn today by various black American rappers such as Azealia Banks and
Kanye West to promote their original style alongside their music, this is
mirrored from the 1990’s when artists such as 2Pac and Eminem would wear
baseball hats to coincide and be associated with the hip-hop genre.